Highest Maternal Mortality Ratio

561 deaths
per 100,000 live births (Liberia)

Lowest Maternal Mortality Ratio

1.3 deaths
per 100,000 live births (Denmark)

Average Global Maternal Mortality Ratio

116 deaths
per 100,000 live births
Maternal Mortality Ratio: 20 Highest Countries
Global Distribution of Maternal Mortality Ratios
Summary

  • Wide disparities: MMR ranged from 1.3 to 561 deaths per 100,000 live births.

  • Highest: Liberia (561 deaths); lowest: Denmark (1.3 deaths).

  • Burden concentrated in Sub-Saharan Africa; lowest rates in high-income countries.

  • Global average: 116 deaths, but masks regional differences.

Average Infant Mortality Rate

24 deaths
per 1,000 live births

Highest Infant Mortality Rate

96 deaths
per 1,000 live births (Angola)

Lowest Infant Mortality Rate

1.5 deaths
per 1,000 live births (Luxembourg)
Key Insights on Infant Mortality Rates

  • The global average Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) in 2015 was 24 deaths per 1,000 live births.

  • Angola, Central African Republic, and Sierra Leone recorded the highest IMRs, exceeding 85 deaths per 1,000 indicating the Sub-Saharan African countries dominate the high IMR group.

  • In contrast, countries like Luxembourg, Iceland, and Finland reported IMRs below 2.

  • These extremes illustrate a substantial inequality in child survival outcomes across the world; however, the data is from 2015 that may not reflect post-COVID19 pandemic changes.

Country Overview: Mortality Rates and GDP (2015)
Summary of Observed Trends

  • Countries with lower GDP per capita generally show higher infant mortality rates and maternal mortality ratios.

  • High-income countries tend to cluster at the lower end of mortality rates and ratios.

  • The relationship is not perfectly linear, with a few exceptions.

  • Strong inverse relationship between GDP and IMR/MMR is visually apparent.

GDP per capita (Price and inflation adjusted)
Maternal Mortality Ratio (IHME) per 100,000 live births
Infant Mortality Rate (IHME) per 1,000 live births

About This Dashboard This dashboard presents an analysis of key 2015 mortality indicators — Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) and Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) — across countries, alongside their relationship with GDP per capita for the same year. The data are sourced from the R package ‘Gapminder’, which compiles reliable global development statistics to foster a fact-based understanding of the world.

About Gapminder The Gapminder Foundation is a respected organization that aggregates and curates data from trusted international sources such as the World Bank, World Health Organization (WHO), and UNICEF. By harmonizing these datasets into accessible formats, Gapminder supports research, education, and informed policy-making on global health and development.

Explore their data repository here: https://www.gapminder.org/data/

Datasets Included

  1. GDP per Capita (2015): Reflects the average economic output per person in US dollars, adjusted for price and inflation, offering insight into the economic well-being of countries worldwide.

  2. Infant Mortality Rate (2015): Measures the number of infant deaths (under 1 year of age) per 1,000 live births in 2015. This is a crucial indicator of child health and the quality of healthcare systems.

  3. Maternal Mortality Ratio (2015): Indicates the number of maternal deaths per 100,000 live births in 2015, reflecting maternal healthcare quality and overall health system effectiveness.Maternal deaths include any death of a woman while pregnant or within 42 days following termination of pregnancy — regardless of pregnancy duration or site — caused by pregnancy-related factors or their management, excluding accidental or incidental causes. The age range considered is 15 to 49 years.